Prince is giving away three million copies of his new album, Planet Earth. The eccentric pop star has teamed up with British paper Mail On to distribute the freebies. Free copies will also be handed out at his concerts.

The Minneapolis artist explained: “It’s direct marketing and I don’t have to be in the speculation business of the record industry which is going through a lot of tumultuous times right now,” Prince, who register a dismal 80,000 sold copies of his last album in the U.K.

Meanwhile, industry retailers are angered by the royal giveaway. Paul Quirk, co-chairman of the Entertainment Retailers Association, said the decision “beggars belief,” before adding that “The Artist formerly known as Prince should know that with behavior like this he will soon be the Artist Formerly Available in Record Stores.”

Don’t you wish all artists would take the Prince approach and make music available for little to no cost?

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